China book - Page Text Content

FC: Welcome to China! The scenes, destinations, and history are amazing. Enjoy these: | Who's Who What's What Where's Where

1: "Families are like fudge mostly sweet with a few nuts." ~Author Unknown | What's what? | One key idea that the Chinese believed in was the Mandate of Heaven. They thought that heaven granted a ruler the right to rule. This meant that the people owed the ruler complete loyalty and obedience. If the ruler did not maintain harmony and order, the people had the right to rebel. The mandate of heaven explained the dynastic cycle (Rise and fall of ruling families.). | Every nation has a social class and so did the traditional Chinese. | They did not have equal for all | people. According to Confucian ideas, a person's | age, education, sex, and occupation all determined that persons place in society. Young people respected their elders, women were inferior to men, peasants were more valuable than people because they worked the land, scholars held the highest position, and people who traded goods or fought for China were below peasants. | People of importance to traditional China, from the most important to the least important: Gentry (Educated/wealthy landowners) Peasants (Worked the land, majority of people) Artisans/Merchants (Produced goods) Soldiers (Fought for China) | The Great | Wall of China is one | of the greatest sights a person can see. It was first built in the 7th century in 221 B.C. by the first emperor of the Qin | Dynasty, Shi Huangdi. It was built by hundreds of thousands of peasants who were force to | build it under harsh conditions and it is said, | "Every stone cost a human life." The Great Wall is 1,500 miles long from East to West. It is now | a symbol to the Chinese. The walls that | were joined to build the Great Wall were meant to keep invaders | out. It seldom did though. | 1, 2, 3, ...

2: What is what continued... 4, & 5 | The symbols of Yin and Yang has help ed shape Chinese thinking for more than 2,000 years. The Yin and yang are thought to be forces in nature that balance each other. Yang is said to be male, heavenly, and active. Yin is said to be female, earthly, and passive. | The Chinese set up an examination system that would choose civil servants and or government officials. This system of choosing officials last until the early 1900s. In order to pass the exam, the test takers had to know Chinese law, Confucian teachings, traditions, and history. Scholars went through the agony of this exam for more than 2,000 years.

4: Where is where? | Three rivers have held an important place in Chinese life since ancient times: | The Huang He river (Yellow River) is thousands of miles long that runs across North China and then empties in the Yellow Sea. It earned the name "River of Sorrow" for its floods that cause terrible destruction. The only good thing from the flooding is the fertile layer of silt left after the flood dries up. | Chang River (Yangzi) carries a lot of China's trade. Large ships sail hundreds of miles upriver to the mouth of the Chang where the busy port city of Shanghai. Now, the government has built dams to use for hydroelectric power along the Chang. There are pros and cons to the dams and people are still decided which out weighs which. | The Xi River (West River) is China's third major waterway and it flows through South China. Tens of millions of Chinese live in the Xi delta because of the good soil for farming, ample water, and able climate. Ocean vessels navigate this river and reach Guangshou, a major port where ships will go out from and carry produce from Chinas southland's and bring them to the world. | 1, 2, 3,...

5: "Friends are Flowers that Never Fade" | Chinese heartland: | Where is where continued... | Chinese heartland is made up of two regions in a densely populated area. The heartland was home to China's first civilization. | North China is one of the regions of the Chinese heartland. It has warm or hot summers and cold winters. It has differing rain fall and it doesn't help the farmers. It goes back and forth from floods to droughts. The chief food crops were wheat and millet. Beijing and Tianjin are cities that are located in North China and are manufacturing centers. Beijing is now China's capitol so had a major impact on China. | South China has a mild, humid climate. It is very hilly so it is rural so their are many farms on the river valleys and around the lakes. It is great for rich farming and it is an industrial region. Farmers grow things like rice, cotton, tea, vegetables, and other crops. | 4, & 5

6: Where's Where: | Huang He River | Chang River | Xi River | North China | South China

7: Who is who? | Shi Huangdi was an energetic and ruthless leader, but he unified his empire. He started his rule in 221 B.C. by conquering his neighbors and overthrowing the Zhour dynasty. He built the Great Wall of China. The name he took (Shi Huangdi) means "First Emperor." He believed in Legalist principles, used harsh means to centralize power in his hands, and laid the foundations for Chinese rule that lasted till 1911. | In 1279, Kublai Khan, extended Mongol power over all of China. The Mongols tried to reduce the role of Confucian scholars and preserve their own culture. Only Mongols or foreigners would have positions of power. There was no possible way that Kublai Khan could resist powerful Chinese influence. During his reign, Marco Polo visited China. | 1, 2,...

8: Who is who continue... 3, 4, & 5 | Marco Polo visited China during the Mongols rule and worked as an official of the Mongol ruler. Polo would write about what he did in China, he would write about things like the transportation system that went from Beijing to every province. Europeans thought his stories about Chinese practices and wealth hard to believe. Marco Polo described the Mongol rule at its height. | Confucius is China's best known philosopher, was born around 551 B.C. He was disturbed by the suffering and disorder from the warfare. He came up with ideas to make peace and harmony and tried to convince princes of his ideas. It did not work so he went home and taught a small but loyal group of his ideas. His teachings were gathered and put in the Analects after his death. | Lao Zi wanted to find a way to establish an orderly society. | He founded Daoism and his thoughts are in The Way f Virtue. He emphasized the link between people and nature instead of the importance of proper behavior. He was a philosopher and studied human society. His thoughts effected so much and influenced the world.